


Their Darling Daughter

by mldrgrl



Series: Adventures of The Lady Detective and The Writer [35]
Category: Californication (TV), The Fall (TV 2013)
Genre: Countdown to the wedding, Emotional Conversation, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 11:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11485194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: Stella gets a visitor while she's getting ready for the big event





	Their Darling Daughter

The guesthouse was different than the last time Stella had been there.  Hank had told her that Karen had the tendency to redecorate on a whim, but there didn't seem to be one item, bed included, that was the same as before.  There had been a blue and white beach theme before and now there was a distinctly Moroccan theme happening - an explosion of jewel tones and silk.

 

“I'm afraid slash hoping a harem of belly dancers will pop out of the bathroom later and perform the dance of the seven veils,” Hank said, once Karen had left them alone.

 

“You only need Salome for that,” Stella answered.  “Not a harem.”

 

“Salome can stay home.  I need my head.”  He sat down on top of the bright turquoise comforter on the bed and gave the fluffy bedclothes a few punches.

 

“You need to get your things and go back to the big house.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.”

 

“You don't believe in that shit.  Besides, I fucked the bride the morning of the wedding so it's already ruined.”

 

“I don't want you here when I'm getting ready.  How's that?”

 

“Why?” he asked, leaning down and poking his finger inside the gap of her bag and inching the zipper down.  “You have something sexy and lacy in here I haven't seen?  Is it a surprise?”

 

“Get your things together,” she ordered, smacking his hand away from her bag.  “Go to the house.”

 

“So bossy.”  He pulled her closer to where he was sitting by yanking at her hips and looked up at her.  “I'll see you at sunset o’clock?”

 

“I'll be there.”

 

“Okay.  Kiss for the road?”  

 

Stella kissed him quickly and firmly, but he squeezed her ass and pulled her against his chest, trying to extend the moment.  She pushed him back and urged him to his feet.

 

“Okay, okay,” he said.  He groaned dramatically as he hoisted his overnight bag onto his shoulder and she ushered him to the door.

 

Alone, she stretched out on the bed and gazed up at the wispy, gauzy curtains suspended from ceiling that floated down over the back half of the bed and were tethered to the posts on the headboard.  She thought about how strange it was to be here, in the guest house of her soon-to-be husband’s ex fiance’s house preparing for her wedding.  The funny thing was, it didn’t make her feel strange at all.  Hank was against it, but it was Stella that thought it made sense.  The wedding, as they referred to it, wasn’t really a wedding anyhow, so what did it matter?

 

Hank had asked for one thing when they decided to make their union legally binding; please could Becca be there?  Of course, she’d said.  She had been going to suggest it if Hank didn’t.  With that in mind, they’d planned to marry at the register’s office in London whenever Becca was free to visit.  The only problem was, they needed two witnesses and though Hank still considered Charlie to be his best friend, Charlie brought drama with him, and Hank did not want drama.  Stella didn’t even care to invite anyone she worked with out to coffee let alone witness her marriage, and she didn’t have any close friends, plus she was estranged from her family, so they thought about marrying in New York instead.

 

Of course, once Karen caught wind of this plan, she all but insisted they have the wedding at the house in Connecticut.  Though neither of them wanted a ceremony, they weren’t opposed to a small gathering.  Hank had actually fought her a little about it though.

 

“Did you not do the same for her once?” Stella had asked.  “You wanted Becca to know you were supportive of her relationship with Richard.”

 

“Bates was the second husband,” he’d said.  “I went to her wedding with Bill, and that’s a pretty bad fucking example since it was a total shit show and she ran off with me on the wedding night and not the groom.”

 

“I won’t be running off with Karen, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

 

“Ha fucking ha.  It’s one thing to attend the wedding, it’s another to offer your fucking house up for the big event.”

 

“Don’t you think Becca would be more comfortable with it?”

 

“Has she said something to you?”

 

“No, I’m just trying to place myself in her position as the child caught in the middle of this.”

 

“She isn’t twelve years old anymore.”

 

“No, but she’ll still be your child no matter how old she is.  And Karen’s.”

 

So, Hank had somewhat reluctantly agreed to the wedding in Connecticut and Fish was so delighted at the prospect of barbequing for a bride and groom, he also got himself ordained online and FaceTimed the two of them with a pitch as to why he should officiate.  Hank had muted the call and put his hand over the camera, vehemently shaking his head.

 

“We’re not getting married by The fucking Trout,” he’d said.

 

“He just told us he’d make sure it was the wicked coolest,” she’d flatly answered.

 

“This is the kind of shit that happens in fucking sitcoms.  Our wedding isn’t a fucking Friends episode.”

 

“I do think it’s rather lovely how excited he is.”

 

“Are you saying you  _ want _ to get married by The Trout?”

 

“I’m saying I can’t think of a reason we should tell him no.”

 

Hank had lifted his brows at her like she’d gone mad, but he moved his hand off the camera and took the call off mute.  “Sure, Fish.  You can officiate.”

 

“Hot dog!” Fish had yelled, punching his fists in the air in triumph.

 

Even if Stella had her doubts and uncertainties about going through with legalizing their marriage, she had no doubts about proceeding with how things were planned.  She liked these people and wanted for them to be involved if they wanted to be.  Her reasons for being hesitant had nothing to do with them or even Hank.

 

The truth was, she was still hesitant, but feeling more secure about her reservations. After Hank got on the plane to New York, she called the therapist she’d been seeing for the past few months and asked to make an emergency appointment for that day.  She desperately needed to voice her concerns to a neutral party, but the more she talked about them, the more irrational she felt.  It was all simply a matter of fear and she was good at conquering fear.  

 

So, she decided that’s what she had to do with this irrationality; stare down the barrel at it and conquer it.  She wanted to marry Hank.  She truly did.  She just also didn’t want to end up in some messy divorce some years down the line because it just seemed inevitable.  Except, she did look at what Hank managed to sustain with Karen and in a way it gave her hope.  He was a man who was not afraid to love her through hard things and to remain by her side even if she didn’t deserve it.  In anyone else, she might have found it pathetic, but it was his sincere determination to hold on that she admired.

 

Of course, there was a reason he had to maintain a relationship with Karen.  If not for Becca, perhaps Hank and Karen wouldn’t have ever been significant to each other.  If not for Becca, perhaps Hank and Karen would still be together.  If not for Becca, they certainly wouldn’t be gathered together in this place.

 

Stella pushed herself up from the bed and went to her purse to get her phone.  She still had a bit of jet lag and wanted to set her alarm to try to get in another hour or so of rest.  With her phone, she pulled out a manila envelope and turned it over in her hands.  She pulled out the slip of paper inside and propped it up on the bureau to look at it.

 

When Karen picked Hank and Stella up at the train station she took them immediately to the town clerk’s office to pick up their marriage license.  Normally, the office wasn’t open on a weekend and there would be a 24-hour turnaround for the certificate, but Fish happened to be friendly with the registrar and promised free guitar lessons for her son for a month if she would issue the license on a Saturday.  Even though it was a legal document, she still expected it to be prettier somehow.  It was surreal to think that this piece of paper was going to tie Henry James Moody and Stella Claire Gibson together for the rest of their lives.

 

Stella took off her shoes and set the alarm on her phone.  She curled up on the bed, closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind for the next hour.  She rested, but she didn’t sleep.  The alarm roused her all too soon and she got up to start getting ready.  She was in her robe, rubbing lotion on her freshly shaved legs when there was a quiet knock on the door.  It was Becca.

 

“I don’t want to bother you,” Becca said, smiling brightly when Stella opened the door.  “Am I bothering you?”

 

“Not at all,” Stella said.  “Come in, come in.”

 

Becca slipped inside and hugged Stella.  Stella kissed both her cheeks and took her hand.

 

“I’m glad you’re here, actually,” Stella said.  “I’ve something for you.”

 

“For me?”

 

“Yes, it’s in my bag.”  

 

Stella rifled through her overnight bag and pulled out a long, thin wooden box.  She opened it up and set the box down on the bed before she brought the contents out.

 

“A watch?” Becca asked.

 

“A compass, actually,” Stella answered, wrapping the leather band around Becca’s wrist and latching it.  “My father gave it to me when I was maybe eleven or twelve years old.”

 

“Why would your father get you a compass?”

 

“He traveled frequently.  He would tell me the direction in which he would be traveling before he left, and he would say just look southeast, for example, if I missed him.”  

 

Becca lifted and turned her wrist a little when Stella finished latching it, making the dial flicker slightly.  “That’s cool,” she said.  “But, I don’t...I mean, it's from your dad, you don’t want to keep it?”

 

“He also told me that one day I should give it to my own daughter.”  Stella traced her finger around the circumference of the brass face of the compass and then took Becca’s hand.  “I brought it with me today because I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to honor his request and I would like you to have it.”  

 

“Are you...are you sure you…”

 

“I am very sure.  One day I’d like for you to pass it along as well.”

 

“Yeah, okay.”  Becca bit her lip and Stella squeezed her hand.

 

“London is northeast of New York.”

 

“Thank you, Stella.  I...actually I have something for you too, that’s why I came over.”

 

“That’s sweet of you.  We just wanted you to bring yourself you know, you didn’t have to get anything.”

 

“Well, it’s not...it’s really something I just wanted you to know, so I wrote it down.”  Becca pulled a blue envelope out of the back pocket of her jeans and unfolded a piece of paper from inside.

 

“Shall I sit?”

 

“Yeah, okay.”

 

Stella sat down at the edge of the bed, hoping to put Becca at ease.  The girl seemed a little flustered or anxious which was unusual for her.  In her line of work, she’d dealt with a lot of nervous people and she found that remaining calm and even was key to help them open up.

 

“Um,” Becca said.  “I’m just going to read this so I make sure I get it all out.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Dear Stella, I don’t know if you remember this, but when we first met, you asked if I thought you were taking my dad away from me.  I thought it was funny because it had been such a long time since we’d had that kind of relationship.  There was a time when we’d been very close though, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss that.”

 

Becca paused and glanced at Stella uncomfortably, like she was about to say something she felt guilty about.  Stella kept herself as relaxed as possible and nodded in encouragement.

 

“I promise you,” Stella said, “whatever you have to say about me or your father, I won’t be offended or shocked.”

 

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but there was a time that I told my father not to introduce me to anyone he didn’t intend to keep around.”

 

“Yes, he did tell me that.”

 

“You were the first woman in his life in five years that I met.  I was still reluctant to meet you because I didn’t quite believe I would ever see you again, but then I did meet you and I saw then as I see now that things are different.”

 

Becca paused again and stared at her paper for a few moments.  “I want you to know I wasn’t one of those kids who wanted their parents to get back together.  Sure, when they first split up, I did, but it was very obvious, very quickly, that they were toxic for each other.  There is a part of me that wishes he had met you back then, back when they first separated and before a lot of shit happened.  Then again, maybe if you had met my dad back then, you wouldn’t still be here today.  In fact, I doubt you would be here today.”

 

Stella couldn’t argue with that and she nodded slightly.  “That’s the mystery of relationships,” she said.  “Sometimes it’s all about timing.”

 

Becca nodded and pushed her hair back over one shoulder before she continued.  “I want you to know that if you were to ask me again, now, if I thought you had taken my father away from me, I would tell you it was the opposite of how I feel.  In some ways, I believe you’ve brought my dad back to me.  I would like you to know that I’m grateful for you.  I’m grateful you’re here and that I know you and that you’re marrying my dad.”

 

“Becca.”  Stella stood and put her hands on Becca’s face, wiping the dampness from under the young girl’s eyes with a gentle sweep of her thumbs.  She dropped her hands to Becca’s shoulders when Becca looked down and folded the letter back into the envelope.

 

“I have a lot of friends whose parents can’t even be in the same room together,” Becca said.  “All things considered, I guess I’ve been pretty lucky.”

 

“I’m grateful for you as well, darling girl.”

 

Becca handed Stella the blue envelope and then reached into her front pocket.  “One more thing,” she said, holding up a silver band.  “Dad’s ring.  He asked me to get yours so you can exchange them when the time comes.”

 

Stella twisted the ring she’d already been wearing for several months off her finger and handed it to Becca.  She took Hank’s ring and slipped it onto her thumb as Becca slipped Stella’s ring into her pocket with a smile.  It was odd that she hadn’t quite become accustomed to wearing the ring, but once it was off her finger, it felt empty somehow.  Like something was missing.

 

“I guess I’ll leave you alone to get ready.”  Becca turned towards the door.

 

“Wait.”  Stella reached for the wooden box for the watch and met Becca at the door to give it to her.

 

“I’m almost finished with my next book.  Will you read it before I send it to my editor?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“See you at sunset.”

 

Stella kissed Becca’s cheek before she let her go.  She went over and checked the time on her phone.  There was roughly an hour to go before the estimated sunset.  She opened up her texts and typed a quick one to Hank.

 

_ I love you. _

 

The floating dots appeared at the bottom of her phone to let her know he was responding and a few moments later it came through.   _ What are you wearing? _

 

Stella smiled and put her phone down to finish getting ready.

 

The End


End file.
